Newsletter Term 2 Week 1 (3.5.24)

Message from the Principal - Lynne Pull

Dear Parents

I trust everyone had an enjoyable break over the holidays. I am certainly feeling refreshed after some Long Service Leave which I spent in Fiji!

There is much that will happen this term. We have just received dates for the Murwillumbah Festival of Performing Arts for Verse Speaking. Wednesday 12^th June will be Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) from 9.30am followed by Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) from 11.00am. Thursday 13^th June Kindergarten 9.00am followed by Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) from 10.30am. Verse speaking will be held at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre in Brett Street.

Music items will be in the final week of this term (commencing 1^st July) at the Murwillumbah Civic Centre. Once we know the precise dates we will inform you.

Term 2 is also when we do Public Speaking. We expect every child in the school to have a go at this.  Adjustments will be made to assist some students who will struggle to perform in front of the whole class. Public Speaking is a big component of the Speaking and Listening component of the curriculum. The best public speakers from each grade will be invited to participate at the Orators Evening to be held towards the end of term. Information will be sent home in due course.

First Communion is the Sacrament focus this term. There will be a parent workshop on Tuesday night at 6pm. Commitment Masses will be on the weekend of 18^th-19^th May. Sunday 19^th will be a school hosted Mass at 9.00am so families are encouraged to come along on this occasion and be part of the wider worshipping community.

The first Parent Forum meeting for the term will be held at 5pm on Tuesday in the staffroom. All parents are welcome to attend. There will be a Mothers Day stall on Thursday of next week. We will celebrate Mothers Day on Friday morning with bacon and egg rolls for breakfast from 7.30am and Assembly at 8.40am.

This term we will be running a Thoughtful Parenting workshop which will be facilitated through the Family Centre. This will take place on Wednesday 15^th May 12.30pm – 3.00pm in the school hall. Parenting in this day and age is not easy so hopefully workshops such as this can assist. I encourage parents to avail themselves of this FREE workshop. Please see the flyer elsewhere in this newsletter which will show you how to register for this.

We welcome a new family, the Hardimans (Sophie in Yr 6) and the Kingston family (Lola in Yr 4) who has returned to our school. We hope you find St Anthony’s to be a warm and supportive community.

We were delighted to hear about the safe arrival of the Holcroft triplets, sisters and brother to Henry in Kindergarten. Congratulations to the family!

There are some families doing it really tough at the moment – some are struggling to find suitable accommodation, others are dealing with the grief of losing loved ones. Please keep all our families in your prayers.

By caring about the happiness of others, we find our own.

God bless

Lynne

Important Dates & School Information

Term 2 2024

Tuesday, 7th May - Parent Forum Meeting 5-6 pm

Tuesday, 7th May - Family Workshop First Communion 6-7 pm

Thursday, 9th May - Mother's Day Stall

Thursday, 9th May - Infants MASS year 2

Friday, 10th May - Zone Cross Country

Friday, 10th May - Mother's Day Breakfast from 7.30 am

Friday, 10 May - Mother's Day Assembly - Kindergarten @ 8.40 am

Wednesday, 15th May - Thoughtful Parenting 12.30-3pm 

Thursday, 16th May - NO MASS

Friday, 17th May- National Walk to School Day

Sunday, 19th May - First Communion  Commitment MASS @ 9 am

Tuesday, 21 May - DIO Cross Country

Wednesday, 22nd May - First Communion Retreat Day

Tuesday, 28th May - No School - Staff Proclaim

Child Protection Policy can be found on our School Website under Information/School Policies: St Anthony's Primary School Website or in the following link: https://www.kngplism.catholic.edu.au/policies

Something to think and pray about

You Belong to Me

Dear God, the image of the divine that I mostly live with is the image of Jesus. You make yourself accessible to me through your Son. He belongs to the human race: he’s one of us, as we say! So when I want to know what you are like, I can go to the Gospels and watch you in action in the person of Jesus. I learn how you relate to me by watching how Jesus relates to those he met. He is the face of the divine: the Father’s face shines on him because he always has you in view. I might shine a bit better if I were to keep you in view in the same way.

Excerpted from I Am Infinitely Loved: A Month of Meditations by Brian Grogan SJ (p.12)

We Remember At This Time…

We think of all those involved in and affected by the conflict in the Middle East and pray that the Spirit of Peace would reign there, touching each and every heart, and bring about love, unity and peace in a deep and lasting way. Lord, come and heal all nations and heal all your wounded people. Amen.

https://sacredspace.com/

Message from Assistant Principal: Julianne Barlogio- Learning & Teaching

We wish to inform you of an important update regarding our communication methods here at St Anthony’s. After months of diligent work and addressing various issues, we are excited to announce that all notices and communication will now be streamlined through the Compass Platform.

From now on, to contact your child's teacher, we encourage you to utilise the Compass app, accessible on your phone or computer. Within your child's profile on Compass, you will find a designated button labelled "Email [Child's] Teacher." By selecting this button, an email will be automatically generated. Importantly, this email will be visible to all teachers assigned to the class, ensuring a collaborative and cohesive approach to communication.

We are implementing this team-based approach to enhance our ability to support students, particularly during staff absences. Responses to inquiries will be crafted collectively by the teaching team, aligning with our co-teaching methodology. This collaborative effort ensures that all communication is transparent and accessible to all teachers involved in your child's education.

Furthermore, we want to reassure you that SeeSaw will continue to be utilised for sharing student learning. We believe this platform provides an excellent opportunity for you to stay engaged with your child's academic progress and achievements.

Should you have any questions or require further clarification regarding the Compass platform or any other aspect of our communication methods, please do not hesitate to visit the school office. We are more than happy to provide demonstrations and assistance as needed.

Finally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support and partnership in your child's education journey. As the school year progresses, we wish you and your family a restful and enjoyable break, filled with quality family time and cherished memories.

Thank you once again for your cooperation and understanding.

Message from the Assistant Principal: Mission - Gemma Ballantine

First Communion: The Year 4 students have commenced their preparation for the Sacrament of Eucharist. The Family Workshop for this Sacrament is Tuesday, May 07, at 6pm in the school Hall. Attendance is compulsory for children receiving First Communion this year and important information will be given to families at this workshop. Please contact Gemma Ballantine via the Office if you have any questions or if you haven’t received a Compass link to this event.

Tell them from me survey

As part of our ongoing school improvement, St Anthony’s, Kingscliff, will be participating in an online survey for students, staff and families – Tell Them From Me® (TTFM®). The survey will provide us with valuable feedback on what our teachers, students and their parents think about school life, celebrate what is working well and identify areas that need work. Schools in Australia and around the world use the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve.

The Parent survey will be sent out via Compass this Monday, May 06.

Participation in the survey is entirely voluntary, but we would appreciate as many families as possible giving feedback. The more feedback we are given, the better we are able to understand what we're doing well and what we need to work on to create an even better school.

Thank you for your participation and ongoing support of St Anthony's School.

ANZAC Day

Thank you to all of the families who represented St Anthony’s school at the 2024 ANZAC Day March in Kingscliff. We had over 60 students attend and a number of students came to the Mass. A special thank you to the school Captains and Vice Captains who led with the school flag and laid the wreath.

Mother’s Day

As you are aware, next Sunday is Mother’s Day. We will be celebrating the wonderful women in our lives with a breakfast and Assembly next Friday, led by our Kindergarten students. We would love as many mums there. A bacon and egg roll breakfast will be available from 7.30am. All mothers, grandmothers, aunts and mother figures are very welcome

Exciting Birth Announcement from the Holcroft Family!

We are thrilled to share the joyful news from the Holcroft family! Max Holcroft came in this week, beaming with happiness, to announce the birth of his triplets. The family's joy is boundless, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome these precious new additions.

Here are the details of the beautiful triplets:

• Primrose Imke Grace weighed in at 1.09 kilograms.
• Lillana Ava Pearl weighed 2.0 kilograms.
• Robert Percival Mikhail weighed 2.3 kilograms.

It's clear that Max is overjoyed and relieved, and we send our heartfelt congratulations to the Holcroft family. Let's join in celebrating this wonderful news and wishing them all the best as they start this new journey with their three bundles of joy!

Mother's Day Stall - Helpers Needed

THIS WEEK AT FLYING START

We are back for Term 2 and it has been a Flying Start for us here at Preschool.  We have had a mud kitchen installed over the holidays and this has been a busy place for us all this week.  Messy play allows our children to use their curiosity and engage in their senses in a fun environment and this has certainly been on show already.

This term we are focussing on developing gross motor skills in the form of different types of games.  We are fortunate enough to have such a large space for our pre-schoolers to engage in these games and it helps to promote fairness, working together and learning new skills.

We will continue to visit the school each week for kindy sport and have visits to the library and playgrounds.

Term 2 will be full of fun and learning for us all!!

Misc News

Parish Information and News

Parish Priest: Fr Paul McDonald

Finance Manager: Paul Crouch

Parish Secretary: Marty Darragh

Pastoral Assistant: Catherine Holliday

Phone: 0266741368

Email: parkings@bigpond.com

Website: http://stanthonysparishkingslciff.org

WEEKEND MASS TIMES
VIGIL: KINGSCLIFF 5:00pm
SUNDAY:POTTSVILLE 7:30am
KINGSCLIFF 9:00am

WEEKDAY MASS TIMES
TUESDAY: POTTSVILLE 9:15am
WEDNESDAY: KINGSCLIFF 8:00am
THURSDAY: KINGSCLIFF 9:00am
FRIDAY: KINGSCLIFF 8:00am

RECONCILIATION TIMES

SATURDAY: KINGSCLIFF4:00-4:30pm
SUNDAY: POTTSVILLE 7:00—7:25am

Current Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 9am-3pm

PARISH NEWSLETTER LINK: http://stanthonysparishkingscliff.org/news-events/

St Anthony's Parish - Care Group

Many parents may have noticed from the Parish Bulletin, that the Parish has a Care Group which, among other things seeks to provide meals to any parishoners in need.

This could include times of family sickness, new mums struggling to provide for the family in the early days of returning home, and many other circumstances of genuine need.

Please be aware that the Care Group is very willing to help out if any families find themselves in need of this service.

Contact: Parish Office: 0266 741 284 or Maree Moore 0439 174 116